I see folks on here a LOT, say we need liberal ..REAL progressives in places like Florida,
Georgia, North Carolina, etc. The culture in these more red than blue areas will not and I repeat..will never elect liberal, progressive leaders as would California, Massachussetts, or New York. It just will not happen.
I see people complain and just do not understand the culture down here. It is backwards compared to our northern and western population and no amount of formal education is going to change that. Joe Scarborough is a real liberal to most of the natives in these states. I wish I could really explain it but as a native southern person, I blame the bible belt and the extensive roots go back as far as the civil war which many are still fighting.
We have had democrats in leadership. I have heard that said. We may have had democratic labels on people who held office but let me name a few. How about that progressive Governor Wallace? Who remembers Axe handle Lester Maddox? These folks were Dixiecrats and they no more wanted equal rights than Rick Perry. In recent times we had Zell Miller..Wow ..what a progressive he was !!!
The last real progressive Georgia had as a governor was Jimmy Carter and he was laughed at and made fun of and hated by most of the country. He was considered a country bumpkin. We have had pockets of progressives but they are most definately in the minority. People like John Lewis of Georgia and Alan Grayson of Florida gets elected by pockets of progressives.
Jump below the fold and I will try and explain this idea of why a REAL progressive in ways many describe just won't fly in most southern states,
We were very fortunate to get folks like Sam Nunn, Max Cleland, and folks like this,
This is not huge progressive types. They were actually considered too liberal for southern states because they did believe in equality for the masses. They did believe in equal rights and taxing the welathy. They were both hawks and bible believers which got them the vote. We idololize JFK and FDR but these folks were really politicians to the bone and knew how to sway the voters but the southern states still did not warm up to JFK. FDR would be considered a right winger by many on the left.
From the cradle to the grave, wrong as it is, southern folks had rather vote with their Bible marker than in their best interest. They fear Hell more than homelessness and hunger. Many natives of southern states have never traveled any further than three counties over for any culture awareness. The baby boomers in the south grew up with the stories of how the African American really LIKED being servants. Yes I have heard this in topics of conversation since I could walk. They liked having their own schools.
They liked being separate but equal... Yes... I heard that BS most of my life from different people or heard silence when these true believers spouted this olff. I rememeber judgemental people saying things like , " Those Hollywierd people try to make folks forget their roots and religion by pushing God in the toilet with their filth on the screen but rest assured , they were right there buying tickets to Valley of the Dolls and Midnight Cowboy and Scarface. True.. Every word I am giving you is true.
Come sunday morning the preacher and folks would pound their bible and say things that make Michelle Bachman look tame and push an idealogy right down the throats of the ignorant, not traveled, cultural inept southern folks throats who were too lazy to look up spcripture and accept the fact that the end was in sight and those crazy yankees and California folks were trying to cause them to backslide into Fire and Brimstone,
The people who served in Vietnam were for the most part trying to justify their role in that very wrong war. The hippies like OPOL or Meteor Blades were jailed as they were considered trouble makers just like MLK and never quite fit in. Of course they are on the right side of history but not accepted in their home areas. Big business erupted in large city areas and more money influenced the ignorant via Fox news and the Rush Limbaughs. We then had Good ole boys dumber than them or as dumb liked George W and his lying ways of cutting trees and being just a regular guy. IMO, most of the southern folks are afraid of change as change means having to admit most of their lives has been lived in ignorance and lies.
George Wallace had a time of self examaination of his wrong way thinking and then that came only after being shot and from a wheelchair.
Most schools in the south STILL have corporal punishment. They still have prayer in school and the electorate HATE the ACLU. There are progressives in southern states but if they are natives of this area they know what I am saying is the truth. The democrats in these states for the most part ARE not liberal. They are moderate and still attend church, do not speak up against racial or income inequality and can be wishy washy regarding war. This is the south. This is how I see it. The natives of southern states are very tribal. So very many still go to their Aunt Jane's family reunion where they hear of the changes in America from Obamacare to DOMA being the cause of all the world's ills. They feel President Obama has brought the country down and it is his fault not their useless obstructionist legislator who is to blame for their joblessness.
A new generation is less strong in the ideaology but still being influenced. The Left Behind movies and books along with old King Ronnie and his smooth tongue has convinced the southern boomers, generation x, and their dependency on the Boomers by living in their homes during this economic depression (and I won't call it a recession), is reinforcing those beliefs of old ways of hatred.
Guns, God and Glory. This is the southern mantra, This is the torch the southern folks believe in, The president hit that nail on the head in 08 when speaking of this mindset in rural areas of Pa., but the democratic party as a whole has failed to reach out and try to educate the populus in the south, maybe because they know it is futile. Maybe not. I have tried to reach people and I am definately in the minority. I have traveled and have reached out to people stuck in the past but get along better with folks who are the DFH or the Yankees who are hated so by the Rebels in the south. I am not accepted in the south or even among my own classmates and some family but guess what I am strong enough to not give a ratt's butt but many are not and go along to get along.
Remember Irishwitch's rants? She was spot on of how uncomfortable and pushy for the most part of the south was treating her. She was angry and could not wait to leave and never return. We needed Irish witch's vote for a dem.
The next time some folks start pushing more progressives in the south for governor or leadership roles need to know the area and mindset. The south has NEVER been liberal and extremely hypocritical. This I do not see changing until some generations die off.
It may change eventually when the middle class is restored, jobs are available and more teleevangelicals get busted but in the meantime, the rest of the country needs to understand most of we progressives are happy to get a D in our state that many of you just do not understand and call RINO's. We get it. We just can't change it right now.
We fight the extreme left as hard as we fight the extreme right because we DO want to eventually get to a progressive state of affairs....The time has not come. The southern strategy fueled by money and racism is coming to northern and western cities and has already made a dent, if the extreme left is not real careful I am not saying this to start pie throwing.. I am firing off a warning that we can lose good dems in 2014 if the extreme left keeps trying to sway folks to vote very progressive in these backwards states rather than voting for actual people who can win against the crazy...
If you are a white southern woman.. you are in the majority if your conversation is like this...
http://www.youtube.com/...